A special place- Golden Island

The Story of the Origins of Ayurveda & Kerala Murals at the Oceano Cliff Ayurvedic Hotel

There are beautiful murals at the Ocean Cliff hotel where I am staying. I am posting the story about the origins of Ayurveda that I found on the web. 

Ayurveda, the Upaveda of Rigveda, is said to have its origin with Lord Brahma, the creator of this universe. It is not surprising that Ayurveda, the Science of Life, has its roots in spiritualism, though only the healing side of it has come to light. Ayurveda is a holistic way of life rather than just a medical science. It reveals the intimate relationship between the mind and body, humans and the cosmos. Ayurveda basically evolved not as a medical system but as a way of life that would enable man to reach the state of Brahman or Moksha or Enlightenment.

To attain this highest state, humans needed a healthy body and mind, which would help one to attain that state. To keep the body and mind healthy, one would live the Ayurvedic way-a holistic approach for a happy, healthy and peaceful life. Following the diet, regimen and routine accordingly thereby attaining Enlightenment through Ayurveda.

The story of how Ayurveda descended from the abode of Gods down to Earth is interesting. Lord Brahma, recollected his knowledge of Ayurveda and taught Prajapati which is depicted below.....

Prajapati then passed it on to the Aswini twins. 

They in turn taught Indra, the king of Devas. 

Indra passed it on to the Rishis on earth like Bharadwaja and Atreya.

Below are pictures of these incredible murals that are painted on the walls that surround the Ayurvedic clinic. They are made with natural dyes in a traditional Kerala mural painting style. These murals depicts the scenes of various Ayurvedic treatments, herbal preparations, yogic lifestyle which are all showing the importance of the interconnections with the natural world.

Week 5- Varkala. From Crows to Sea Eagles

I left the Greens Ayur Clinic on Sunday evening and caught the overnight train to Varkala in southern Kerala.
When I boarded the train with my 2 heavy bags (an excessive amount of stuff compared to all the Indian travelers!) I found everyone sleeping, the bunks were dark and I couldn't find mine. So I hunkered down in an empty bed until I was asked to move by the man who had a ticket for that seat. He helped me find my bunk which was occupied by an older Indian women, so I climbed to the top in this small compartment that had 3 other sleeping people. It was surprising comfortable and quiet and I did get a few hours sleep before I arrived at my destination 10 hrs later. By the time I was ready to get off the train- all the others had left so I could take a picture to share with you.

Varkala is a coastal town and I am staying at a place right on the cliff that overlooks the Arabian Sea. I am staying at The Oceano Cliff  which is a beautiful, peaceful sanctuary off the beaten path. For the first time in 5 weeks I am not hearing the endless honking of horns and loud noise but instead the sound of the waves hitting the beach way below. I am one of the only guests here which is strange, there is one other Australian couple who I am going to go to see some sites with on Wed & Thurs.

When I first arrived in my lovely room I sat on the patio to watch the sea and I saw several brown winged birds with white heads. I had thought these could be bald eagles but then read they are only found in North America. These are Sea Kites- a type of sea eagle that is very common in Asia. Then I had the blessing from this amazing bird to come and welcome me. He/she sat about 15ft away on a coconut tree branch for several minutes. I talked to the eagle and it was very interested in what I had to say ;)

I will be here for another week and then be coming home which I am also looking forward to!

Party at Dr. Asghar's House

Dr. Asghar is the owner of Greens Ayur Center where I have been staying the last week. He has a very busy practice with the local people. There is a huge Muslim population here and because Dr. Asghar is Muslim he has many patients coming from Saudi Arabia & Dubai. We had a fun time this week with 4 Western woman from- France, Holland, Germany and America- and 4 Arab men. It was a unlikely but pleasant combination.

One of the men is here with his child who is 7 yo and has Cerebral Palsy. He is getting treatment here for 1 month. These are photos of a party he threw for us as a goodbye as several of us are leaving soon.

Ayurvedic Treatments- a mini Panchakarma

One of Ayurveda's great practices is called Panchakarma which means Five Cleaning's. To explain it simply- it is a set of treatment which prepare your body for detoxing,  then to detoxify and then to rejuvenate. The minimum time suggested is 3 weeks where you have treatments each day according to your health issues.
I had 7 seven days so it was an abbreviated version which is the minimum amount of time this can be done.
Here are some pictures of the treatment room, my therapists, and me receiving treatment.
Will come back and add more detail when I have time.

Medicine Making at Greens Ayurvedic Clinic- Kerala

This is the onsite building where they make most of their medicines= medicated oils for the treatments, herbal decoctions and elixirs and much more. Wow- what a place this is. I have to say this is the highlight of my trip to sit with this 79 yo Medicine Man. He has been doing this since he was 18 yo when he was trained by his father and other family members. I think his name is Santosh but I need to verify that..will be adding more pictures and descriptions to this post soon- so check back in!